The Law of the Talent Clown
by Deltoran Merchant
Summary: A troublesome trickster has appeared with the power to manipulate talents and personalities. As Ueki falls to the Harlequin's tricks, followed shortly by others, it's up to Ai to catch the clown and teach him a lesson. UekixAi eventually. Anime based.
1. Chapter 1

**The Talent Clown**

**Chapter 1**

"Once upon a time there was an infernal woman and a celestial man who, against all odds, fell madly in love with each other. As one would expect from a union like this a child was born of the two, a child half of the Celestial Kingdom and half of the Underworld. That's right, one half Heaven, one half Hell, an infernal-celestial hybrid. Terrified of what would be done to this child the two left him on Earth, with a circus, where he grew up.

"As he grew up the Ringmaster discovered the boy had unique powers and used them to perform tricks and jokes impossible for any human to perform. The boy, liking the idea of being a clown, idolized the character of Harlequin from Renaissance Italy. He liked the idea so much that he adopted the name Harlequin as his own, and performed for hundreds of crowds and making them laugh.

"Eventually his real parents came to him and told him of his real heritage and about the 'contest' going on between Celestials. So this boy decided to strike out on his own and pursue a sort of solo act. And that boy was of course ME!" The clown-like boy giggled as he told his story to a bunch of alley cats. He was about eleven with a two-pronged jester hat, half black and half red, skin-tight bodysuit with a red and black diamond pattern, white gloves and boots, and a short vest and rolled up shorts with a half-red and half-black design similar to his hat, with a red heart on the left black side of his vest and black spade on the red side.

The cats merely gazed at him blankly as he finished the story and he frowned. "Lame audience," he muttered, strolling out of the alley, gripping a clown-headed baton and twirling it nonchalantly. "Maybe striking out on my own wasn't such a good idea," Harlequin murmured, but his face quickly broke into a grin, his blue eyes lighting up within the star shaped tattoos covering each, one black and one white. "Nah it'll be splendiferously awesome when I find an audience!" he cried gleefully.

In a puff of smoke he vanished and reappeared across the street. It was early morning, and nobody was around. He looked around and vanished again, reappearing further down the street. After a couple more of these vanishes he stopped and looked over a track field at a white building with multiple levels. "Hinokuni Junior High School?" he read aloud, after teleporting across the field to the front of the school. "Oh yeah schools! Those things normal kids go to!" he cried aloud, a number of ideas already forming in his head. "And didn't mom and dad mention that god contest was being played by teenagers?" he asked a bush, not expecting or getting an answer. "Well of course they diddy did! And they said that the participants have these talents that are gained and lost by battling each other and using powers on mortals," he explained.

He sat down next to the bush he was having a one-sided conversation with and leaned on it like it was his best friend. "And now, hear me out on this, what if some goofy woofy clown kid like myself were to find a way to add and remove talents at will? Think of that? The fun would be phenomenal." Harlequin sighed and leaned in close like the bush was telling him something. "What if I'm caught and sentenced by the Celestial King? Well what does it matter! I'm half and half! Mommy's got my back down there, and daddy's got me up there, so no matter where I go I end up at home."

Harlequin giggled and jumped to his feet. "So I'm going to get one of those fancy talent PDA's and use it to find a kid to mess with."

((()))

Ai sighed as she dropped onto a park bench. The ceasefire was still in effect, so she was searching for Ueki to make sure he kept his head, and his talents. Where was he though? She'd looked everywhere for him; from the recycling center to the soup kitchens to the animal shelters, and of course here at the park. But she just couldn't find him anywhere. "Well hey there babe," came a voice all too familiar. She looked up to see the green haired boy she'd been searching for, except dressed in those red pants and white dress shoes he'd worn months before. For some reason the sight of him made her heart flutter.

"U-Ueki?" she asked.

"You're talkin' to 'im," he said with a wink. "So you been lookin' for me babe?"

"Where have you been!" she asked angrily.

"Cruisin' the town, lookin' for gals. I finished everything else early, so I decided I'd go look for a date for tonight. So you wanna be the lucky gal?"

"Um... why are you talking like that?"

"It's just a way to pick up beautiful babes like yourself. So how 'bout it? You and me, tonight at eight."

Ai had to admit it was kind of hard to say no to him all of a sudden. It was like overnight he'd become so... attractive and handsome. He didn't really look any different, besides his clothes, but every bit of him from his green hair to his partly exposed chest to his hands screamed 'gorgeous' to her. "I... I can't tonight," she said at last. "Maybe another time."

"Alright gorgeous, check you out later," Ueki said, walking off and leaving her dumbfounded.

"I do good work don't I? And all in a couple hours," came a strange, young voice from behind her. She looked behind her to see a clown boy standing there, and she almost screamed.

"Who are you!" she cried.

"Who am I?" Harlequin giggled. "Gee I don't knowy know. I think I'm a clown kid named Harlequin, but who do you think I am?"

"What?"

"Anyways," Harlequin said, sitting on the top of the bench. "I've been looking for some entertainment right? And I found out about this little contest and the talents and such, so I figured one of the leading contestants would be the best person to have some fun with!"

"You still haven't told me who you are!" Ai cried, lunging for him. He giggled and vanished in a puff of smoke and re-appeared in a tree.

"Like I was saying, I figured if I could modify one of those talent PDA's so I could use it to add and remove talents from someone whenever I want... well think about it!" he cried with several giggles and hanging from the tree branch while his head remained above it, detached from his body. "Talk about entertaining! I can change him into any kind of person I want, whenever I want! It's a great act!"

"How can you control people's talents? Aren't there rules against that?" Ai asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah of course there's rules against that," Harlequin said, appearing upside down next to the girl. "But I have a special place in the world. Mommy's from downstairs and daddy's from upstairs," he giggled. "So no matter what I always just go home! Besides I think the upstairs kingy king is gonna love this show. I've gotten laughs out of undertakers, I can get laughs out of anyone." Ai tried to grab him but he vanished again and appeared back on the branch. "See ya later! Go enjoy the show!" he cried and vanished completely.

"That was annoying," Ai muttered. "He may be able to control Ueki's talents, but at least I can use my PDA to keep track of them." With that thought she made for home.

It wasn't getting the PDA that was the hard part though. She got the device quickly enough, but the hard part was tracking Ueki down again. That boy knew how to get around, and it wouldn't help that he wasn't himself. According to the PDA he'd been given several new talents like smooth talking, charisma to females, attractiveness to females, kissing, and several others that seemed to make him a real ladies man. "Ueki as a ladies' man?" Ai murmured with exasperation. "This is why nobody likes clowns," she said angrily and dashed off in search of her friend.

_Still_, Ai thought as she ran _Changing talents only affects what he's good at and how people might react to him. Somehow his personality's been changed._ "That damn clown," she muttered to herself.

"Hey Ai!" cried a voice from behind her.

"Gina?" Ai asked, turning around to see a brown haired girl from school. They weren't friends, just acquaintances. "What is it?"

"You know that Kosuke Ueki guy right?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah, he's my friend, why?"

"You're... well do you think you could put in a good word for me? He's just so dreamy, all the girls think so."

"Wait, but just a couple days ago everyone was saying he was disgusting," Ai said. She didn't know this would happen so quickly.

"Yeah, but something changed about him. Now he just looks so handsome, and I've heard his really nice and charming too," Gina explained, almost in a trance.

"How did you all talk about this so quickly?" Ai asked, dumbfounded at the way they treated what had literally been an overnight change. "Wait until I get my hands on that clown," she muttered through gritted teeth.

"So can you put in a good word for me?" Gina asked.

"Why have her do all the work? Why not just say it to my face gorgeous?" Kosuke said, appearing from around the corner. "I heard a pretty lady say my name and I just couldn't resist."

Ai groaned as Gina looked ready to melt. "Hey Ueki, you need to snap out of this!" she cried suddenly.

"Snap out of what babe?" he asked blankly.

"Y'know... this!" she said waving her hand around over him. "The clothes, the attitude, the speech!"

"I love his clothes, they make him look so sexy," Gina said dreamily, grabbing Ueki's arm.

"I'll pick you up tonight at eight," Kosuke said with a wink to Gina. "I'll catch ya then."

"Okay!" Gina cried happily and ran off gleefully.

"Now Ai, what's wrong?" Ueki asked.

"How can you not have noticed your talents being shifted around! Or your personality changing?" Ai asked.

"My personality changed? What're you talking 'bout beautiful?" Ueki asked.

"That!" Ai cried angrily.

"Listen gorgeous I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Think Ueki! Think!"

"Nope, too busy. I have to go get ready for my date. Later babe!"

Ai gritted her teeth as Ueki walked away. "Where's that damn clown?" she muttered furiously.

"You mean me?" Harlequin said, popping out in front of her, or his head at least. "Enjoying the show so far? Mr. I'm-so-righteous-and-just is the perfect hero right?" He vanished as Ai tried to grab his head and reappeared floating above her. "He's handsome, and pure, and kind, and bumbles about in everyday life. So now he's become an arrogant womanizer! Isn't it hilarious!"

"No! You're making him make a fool of himself."

"But fooly foolishness is the name of the gamey game! I'm so foolish I'm gonna dismember myself." At that he pulled his arm right away from his body and it floated in mid-air like a cartoon character's would, responding like it was still connected. "Imagine if I could get the Talent of Blank, I'm not eligible, but just imagine if I was."

"The world would become like one big circus?" Ai asked.

"You think? That's a great idea miss! A giant topsy turvy world where everything was craaaazy."

"Yeah well you already said you're not eligible."

"That's right I did! But I have control of the personalities of every single participant," Harlequin said hovering upside down. "I can turn you into a valley girl, Sano into a coward or even Hanon into a saint. You don't need that talent of goofiness, you just need my fancy little PDA here," he said, holding it up over his head. "And the ability to access the Gray Zone."

"The Gray Zone?" Ai asked.

"Oopsie! I let something slip! Wanna honk my nose? No wait you can't because red noses are stupid. Okay, then hope you keep enjoying the show!" And he vanished again.

"I hate that clown!" Ai yelled furiously. "But what's the Gray Zone?" An idea came to mind and she dashed off the direction Ueki had gone.

"Ueki! Wait!" she called as she caught up to him.

"Huh? What is it babe?" he asked, winking at a girl across the street who swooned.

"Where's Tenkou?" she asked.

"At home sleeping, why?" Ai took off before Ueki could say anything else.

Harlequin meanwhile was having fun watching his work pay off. Instead of watching from the trees he'd used his shapeshifting power to take the appearance of a normal boy. There was Kosuke making a complete fool of himself. He seemed to just be walking around the city, checking for girls. Harlequin giggled as Ueki, after saying hello to some girl swooning over him, then swept her off her feet and kissed her right on the lips. "Good thing I made him a good kisser," Harlequin said to himself.

"So how was that?" Ueki asked confidently.

"Wow," was all the girl could say.

"So, could I do anything else with him," Harlequin mused, leaning against a tree. "Oh! I know what would be funny!" He began searching his pockets for something and finally pulled out a whistle. He waited until Ueki had finished talking to the girl then blew the whistle. No sound came out at all, but Ueki turned on his heel and began walking in a different direction than he had been. "I love my artifacts!" Harlequin cried gleefully as he pocketed the whistle.

About fifteen minutes later Harlequin followed Ueki into the hospital and up to the third floor. "Excuse me little boy," a nurse said kindly. Harlequin looked around. "Are you lost? Can I help you find someone?"

"Uh... I'm not lost," he replied, trying to keep his voice level instead of the goofier sounding tones he usually spoke in. Except by now he'd lost sight of Ueki. "Actually," he started "Can you take to where Ms. Jerrard and Mr. Sano are? But don't let them see me, I want it to be a surprise."

"Oh of course, they're on this floor, come along." Harlequin grinned to himself as he followed the nurse along the hall, he just hoped he got there in time to see what he hoped to see.

"That's the room right there, I hope you surprise them," the nurse said pointing ahead.

"Don't worry, one of them's in for a huge surprise," Harlequin muttered with a grin as she walked away. He peeked around the corner and saw Ueki standing near Rinko, who was sitting on the bed, and who looked uncomfortable with his new attitude. "Now this is what I'm talkin' about," Harlequin said gleefully.

"Come on beautiful, we got two and half weeks left, and I still need to fit a girl onto every day," Kosuke flirted. "Besides, those glasses make you totally hot."

"U-um, well," Rinko stuttered.

"What's wrong with you Ueki?" Sano asked, wearing his bathrobe over his clothes as usual. The two were almost fully healed, but were still here for about a day or two more.

"I'm overwhelmed by her incredible beauty," Kosuke replied with a wink.

"Of course she can't resist him," Harlequin whispered to himself, watching Rinko carefully, and the incredulous look on Sano's face. Rinko was blushing just looking at Ueki, there was no way she could resist.

"I don't know, this seems so strange," Rinko replied. "This isn't like you at all Ueki, nor are usually this... attractive."

"Ha! So you _do _like me. Then again, it's hard not to right? All chicks like me," Kosuke bragged flirtatiously. "Come on. Tell you what, I'll buy you a drink and you can think about," he said, kissing her the same as Gina and then leaving the room. Harlequin made sure to vanish in time to avoid being noticed, all the while barely containing his laughter at the incredulous and perplexed expressions Rinko and Sano were making.

"Did he... just kiss me?" Rinko asked Sano.

"Yeah... I think something's up," Sano said at last. "This is not like him at all, something's affecting his mind."

"Is it really that easy to figure out?" Harlequin muttered indignantly, now hiding under one of the beds, still looking normal. "That Sano kid's too smart." He pulled the PDA from his pocket. His was a small pocket-sized object with a touch screen and most of the controls small and hidden. The screen displayed a long list of the various contestants involved, but Harlequin quickly narrowed down the list to Japanese contestants, and then local ones. Ai, Rinko, Ueki, and Sano were on the list. "So that turquoise head's a contestant too is she?" Harlequin muttered to himself.

"Do you hear something?" Rinko asked suddenly, causing Harlequin to freeze and hold his breath.

"What is it?" Sano said, instantly alert.

"I thought I heard someone whispering," Rinko said. Harlequin immediately touched her image on the PDA and brought up her talents and personality. Besides, he thought, this act needs more than one performer. He took away any talent she had for good hearing and lowered her self-confidence, though he noted that bar was already on the lower side, but raised her cheeriness almost to the top, and made a couple other modifications.

"That oughta do it," Harlequin whispered.

"Oh it was just stupid me," Rinko said cheerily.

"Stupid you?" Sano asked.

"Yeah you know, I'm a huge idiot who doesn't know a thing about what she's talking about," the girl said, sounding truthful, but happy. "Oh, I should've given Kosuke some money, I have so much."

"Oh no, not you too," Sano said. "Where's that laughing coming from?"

Harlequin cursed as he vanished just in the nick of time. He couldn't stop himself from laughing, and his laughter continued when he reappeared under the other bed. Kosuke reappeared with two glasses of what seemed to be juice, Harlequin didn't really expect 'a drink' to be alcohol in a hospital..

"Where did you-?" Sano asked, perplexed.

"Just worked my charms on a couple cuties, what can I say? I'm irresistible," he said, handing one glass to Rinko. "Drink up baby," he said "I'll get you a real drink if you accept my little proposal."

Harlequin couldn't help himself and he burst out laughing, but his laugh turned into a squeal as he felt a pair of hands grab him and pull him out from under the bed. It was Sano, naturally, who was grinning with a hint of threat. "Got'cha! So you're behind this are you?" he asked.

"Me? But I'm just a little kid," Harlequin said, trying to make himself look as cute and innocent as possible.

"Not gonna work on me," Sano said.

"Fine," Harlequin snapped. "This is why I always bring some of this," he added, tossing a pouch of powder at Sano's face, specifically his nose. The teen began sneezing and let go of him long enough for Harlequin to vanish and reappear away from him.

"What the-" Kosuke said turning around to see the kid.

"What've you been doing to them?" Sano asked, a towel in each hand ready to be turned into iron.

"Well... I could tell you, but that would be boring. Besides I want to see Mr. Righteous here keep flirting with every Jane and Jill he meets, it cracks me up!" Harlequin cried, giggling.

"I can stop you _and_ get to my dates," Ueki said downing his drink.

"Can't do anything to me here where people are watching, and if they get hurt you lose talents and gain a guilty conscience. Not that I care, I can give you any talents I want. For example I can give you the talent to play any instrument, to run, and... to wrestle." Harlequin made several motions across the PDA, floating out of reach of everyone.

"Talent to wrestle?" Sano asked.

"Now Ueki, do you really want to go after me, or after Sano who's clearly trying to still one of your girls."

"You what?" Ueki yelled angrily.

"I'm what?" Sano asked perplexedly.

"Bye!" Harlequin cried, vanishing from their sight, but appearing in the ceiling. Down below he could hear Ueki getting angry.

"Come on baby," Kosuke said to Rinko, "you can stay at my place." Up above Harlequin was almost crying with laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"The Gray Zone?" Tenkou asked, hovering in front of Ai, flapping his wings to stay aloft. Ai thought he looked like a yellow teddy bear, half anyways, his bottom half was shaped like a forearm pad, as well as sporting horns and ten eyes. They were sitting in Ueki's room where Ai had told Tenkou all about the clown and what he'd said. "I don't think I've ever heard of such a place. Are you sure that's what this clown kid said?"

"Positive," Ai answered. "Any idea on what he could be? I don't think he's a power user, or even human."

"I agree, none of him sounds human. I guess he _could _be a Celestial or an Infernal. Doesn't really explain how he can manipulate talents and personality though."

"He's turned Ueki into a nut; all he wants to do is flirt with every girl he meets," Ai moaned.

"Is that it?" Tenkou asked.

"What?"

"Is Ueki making a fool of himself the only thing bothering you?" Tenkou asked.

"Of course it is! Now come on, we gotta find out what we can about this clown," she said, grabbing Tenkou and dashing out the door. Where can I possibly find information about all this power stuff, she wondered as she made her way to the ground floor.

"Maybe we should find Ueki first," Tenkou suggested. "Call him, I'm sure he'll pick up."

Ai did as suggested and after only a couple of rings Ueki picked up. "Yo Ai! What up babe?" he said.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Well, I was at the hospital, trying to get a date from that cutie Rinko, then some kid told me he was tryin' to steal her so we left and she just ran off when we got to a bus stop."

"Just answer me!" Ai said angrily.

"Calm down gorgeous I'm getting there," Ueki said calmly. Well at least some things can't be changed, Ai thought with exasperation. "I came down the market area, and I'm by Ayaka's Florists. Want me to wait for you baby?"

"Yes," Ai said and hung up. "Did you catch any of that?"

"Well at least he's still sort of like himself, I mean he still acts calm and carefree," Tenkou said "You're right though, he's never flirted that much with anyone in the entire time I've known him. In fact I don't think he's ever flirted at all."

"Come on Tenkou," Ai said "Let's go meet up with him."

After a bus trip it didn't take long for Ai to find Ueki standing outside the florists. "Ueki!" she cried running up to him.

"Mori, looking as gorgeous as ever," Ueki said kissing her hand. Ai had to admit, as annoying as it was to have him like this, at least he was noticing her. "Oh and while I was waiting I got you this," he said, holding up a flower with turquoise petals, similarly coloured to her hair.

"U-Ueki," she stuttered, taking the flower.

"A number one flower for my number one gal," Ueki said kissing her on the cheek, causing her to blush brighter than ever.

"Well Ai, what're we going to do?" Tenkou asked quietly.

"Well... we have three weeks to get him back to normal and catch that clown," Ai said. "I think I'm gonna have some fun first."

"Wait you're not thinking-" Tenkou started.

"I accept your date offer Ueki," Ai said.

"Well I did already book Gina for tonight... but I always have time to fit you in babe," Ueki said, holding her hand. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Know any good restaurants? It's almost lunch."

"I just might," Ueki said and the two ran off, with Tenkou barely having enough time to slip back into Ai's bag.

Thirty minutes later they were sitting at a table in a curry restaurant that Ueki said had a special meaning to him. "So what's so special about this place?" Ai asked, letting herself get lost in Ueki's new aura of charm.

"My mom used to come here all the time when she was our age," Ueki said, sounding like his normal self for a moment. "Anyway babe, any ideas where to go after this? I got plenty of time." Ai sighed, so what if he wasn't himself, the new talents just made him so handsome and dreamy she couldn't take her eyes off. It was like a fairytale, and he was her handsome prince. All that fighting had gotten him into great shape too, she could tell. "Ai!" Ueki said.

"Huh what?" she asked, snapping out of her fantasies.

"I know I'm the best looking guy around, but don't get too lost okay? Now come on, talk to me."

"Uh... have you been enjoying the break between rounds?" she asked, still lost in his charm.

"This is getting ridiculous," Tenkou said to himself from his spot in Ai's bag. "Kosuke's too altered to know what's going on, Mori's getting lost just looking at him, and I can't help but wonder if Rinko and Sano are okay." He looked down at his feet... or whatever they were, and his eyes widened. Mori's cell phone, he thought excitedly. He flipped it open and found Sano's number.

"Hello?" Sano answered.

"It's Tenkou, are you and Rinko okay?"

"Rinko's not here, I think whoever got Ueki got Rinko too, I caught this kid hiding under one of the beds, and he had some sort of powers that seemed different to anything I've seen."

"That must've been the clown kid Ai told me about."

"He didn't look like a clown, just a normal kid. He had a PDA though; it looked like it had all the talents on it."

"It's probably him then. Try to keep an eye out for him," Tenkou said.

"Will do," Sano said and hung up.

"I wonder where he is now," Tenkou mused.

((()))

"Hello there," Harlequin cried happily as he appeared right in front of a peculiar looking boy about Ueki's age. This boy wore long clothes with purple-looking hair and similarly coloured eyes, with tattoos under his eyes and on his nose in the form of black lines. He'd been sitting in the empty room of a lonely house when the clown kid appeared. "I've been looking for you Mr. Hanon."

"My, you're a strange one. You smell strange too, what are you exactly?" Hanon asked innocently, but with a subtle malice and unstableness in his voice that spoke of his darker mind.

"You know, that's a very good question," Harlequin said, vanishing and reappearing behind Hanon with his head facing backwards. "What am I? I'm a clown, there's one thing."

"I've heard of clowns, I didn't know they were so strange. Do they taste good?"

"Ah ah ah," Harlequin said in a condescending tone. "You recently absorbed Robert, and therefore you can't touch me without losing talents. That's one." He vanished and reappeared above Hanon, floating upside down. "For two, you can't touch me, I'll just vanish."

"Interesting points of view, but you'd be an interesting fight I'm sure," he said, a cannon appearing on his arm, which he then fired. Harlequin giggled and vanished, the steel cannon ball shooting straight through the air, than the ceiling, roof and then dropping back down to the floor.

"No no, I don't fight, I perform," he said, reappearing when the cannon ball had ceased to move.

"If you don't fight then why bother hunting me down?" Hanon asked.

"Because I've been putting together my bestest and first solo act, and you power users are all the main players."

"You know you really must be congratulated. You're the first person to confuse me, and might yet be the first person to actually anger me."

"Aww, don't have a temper tantrum little guy," Harlequin teased. "If you want to join in my circus, you have to give me a few moments to prepare you for the show."

"I don't recall saying anything about helping you in any way," Hanon said, his cheery demeanour beginning to fade.

"Silly gilly! You're not helping me, I'm making you do something. Play with these while I work," Harlequin said snapping his fingers and causing the various bits of furniture in the room to animate and come to life. He didn't expect Hanon to take long to put the living drawers and wardrobes down, but even a few seconds was all he needed to finish his changes.

"You throw furniture at me? Now it's in pieces," Hanon surmised. "That was almost insultingly easy."

"And done."

"What?" Hanon started before a change came over his entire demeanour. "Oh, was I trying to attack you? I'm so sorry, that's incredibly rude of me."

"Hanon? What's going on in here?" a voice said, the owner of the voice coming into view. He was a rather feminine looking man, with a blond ponytail hanging down his back.

"Oh hello father, pardon my poor manners. This is my new friend, we were just talking. But my father you look so frazzled, is everything alright?"

"I... don't know what to say. Is everything alright Hanon?"

"Of course it is father, here let me wash those filthy clothes and get your hair fixed."

"Are you responsible for this ridiculous behaviour?" Margarette asked Harlequin, who was floating and laughing.

"Maybe, hope you enjoy it!" the clown said and vanished.

((()))

Ai sighed as she walked towards home. Their date had gone fine, and his charm was incredible, but it just wasn't the same. Ueki had left to prepare for his next date, and she was walking home alone. Ueki was very charming and handsome now, and he was a great kisser, but it just wasn't what she expected from a date from him. He wasn't as sweet as usual, instead he acted like it was just another date, and she was just another girl. Whenever she thought of him though, her heart fluttered.

"I have to get over that. Those talents that clown gave Ueki make him irresistible, but if I don't resist I can't get him back to normal," she muttered.

"I might have a lead on that," Tenkou said.

"You do?"

"Maybe, I was talking to Sano several times during your date and he said he saw this clown there, except he looked like a normal person."

"So he can change shape, well that makes this even harder."

"Yeah, but Sano said he managed to grab hold of him and instead of vanishing, the kid threw sneezing powder at him."

"So?"

"So, if this kid can vanish at will, and does so frequently to avoid being attacked, then why not just vanish from Sano's hands?"

"Yeah, that is strange."

"It means he has some kind of problem with being physically held, and if that's the case it might be that he's something I thought was only a myth."

"What's that?"

"I once heard some guards in the Underworld Prison talking about Greykin, a rare being who could vanish and re-appear at will, and manipulate and summon inanimate objects, among other strange powers. The way they discussed it though I thought it was just some kind of story they'd made up."

"So you think this clown is a Greykin?" Ai asked.

"Maybe, but that just gives us a name. Tell Ueki I'm staying at your place tonight, I want to get to the bottom of this, and his flirting won't help."

Ai dialled Ueki's number in her cell phone as she got home and waited. "Yeah babe? Missing me already?"

"Uh, no it's not that, just Tenkou says he wants to stay with me for the night, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah sure, besides he might get in my way," Ueki replied. "Oh, it's already six thirty? Gotta run babe," he said, making a kissing noise and hanging up.

"Okay this flirty Ueki thing is getting old fast," Ai complained as she made her way to her room before letting Tenkou out.

"I agree," came the voice Ai was beginning to hate. Harlequin appeared on her window sill, grinning goofily like usual.

"Not you again," Ai groaned.

"That's no way to treat a guest," Harlequin said, hopping off his perch.

"Ai grab him!" Tenkou cried. Ai dashed towards the clown kid only for him to vanish as she leapt for him. She hit the ground hard and he appeared behind her. "So I was right, being held is your weakness."

"Maybe," Harlequin replied. "I'm not ready to be caught yet though. Rinko, Ueki, Sano and Hanon have all been gotten. I have my performers, now I'll need to put together a proper show."

"Wait, you changed Sano too?" Ai yelled.

"Yup! Bathrobe boy gets to join the show. Now I want you all to pay attention to the four of them, and don't worry you'll be seeing Hanon too, because I'm going to make the show a lot more interesting."

"More interesting? Wait!" Ai cried as Harlequin vanished. "I hate that clown."

"Yeah I'm with you. I wonder what he means by making the show more interesting," Tenkou mused.

"Well he hasn't actually hurt anyone yet," Ai noted. "He's just changed their personalities. If changing their personalities is what he finds amusing, then what does that mean?"

"Ai! I'm home!" called Ai's dad from the front door.

"We'll figure it out later, just lay low for now okay?" Ai said to Tenkou.

"I'm good at laying low, don't worry about me." Ai nodded and left the room, while inside Tenkou yawned and leaned back, tired enough to fall asleep.

"If I wanted to have fun with people's personalities, what would I do?" he asked himself. "How do you predict that thoughts of someone as crazy as that?" He leaned back and sighed, bored more than anything. "And finally, if he is a Greykin... well nobody knows about his kind, and what's his connection to this Grey Zone."

"Everything alright Ai?" Ai's father asked her as they ate.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she replied.

"Are you sure? You've been acting so strange and secretive lately."

"No it's fine really."

"Is it, you know, is it about what happened to..." her father asked, trailing off sadly. Ai knew what he meant. Her mother had passed away a couple months before she'd confronted Ueki on his powers. She'd always had a weak heart, Mrs. Mori, and she tripped and fell down the stairs, the shock was too much for her.

AI remembered that day spent in the waiting room at the hospital, sitting anxiously and wishing her mom would walk out looking mostly fine, or for a doctor to come and tell her and her father that she was resting, but would be okay. That wasn't what happened though. When the doctor came out he brought them into his office and sat them down. "I'm sorry Mr. Mori, Ms. Mori, we tried everything we could... but the shock was too much for her heart to handle. I'm afraid she's gone."

"I miss her dad," Ai said at last. "I wish she was still here."

"I know honey," her dad said softly. "But you did meet the boyfriend of yours; um what was his name, Kosuke Ueki? Yeah that was it."

"H-he's just a friend," Ai stuttered. "But he is the best friend I've ever had. Mom would've liked him; she did always like the outdoors." She imagined planting trees with Kosuke and her mom at this, and the thought only served to make her want to cry even more. "May I please be excused," she said.

"Oh, of course," her dad said. Ai thanked her dad and made her way back to her room, and once inside she sat down and let the tears flow.

"There you are Ai- why're you crying?" Tenkou asked.

"Oh... it's nothing," she said. "I'll tell you, but you can't tell Ueki." She proceeded to tell the small yellow creature about the personal tragedy she'd remained silent about for months, and never mentioned in her entire time knowing Ueki or Tenkou. When she finished she took a deep breath while Tenkou sat in silence.

"Ai... why haven't you ever told anyone else? Especially Kosuke," he asked at last.

"I don't need to give him more to worry about than he already does, same with the others," Ai explained, wiping the tears from her face. "Besides, it's my problem, not Ueki's or anyone else's. I can handle it myself."

"Wow," was all Tenkou could say. "You want to bear a burden like that all by yourself?"

"It's fine Tenkou, really," she said. "I've handled it for almost five months now, it's fine, really."

"Okay, but what about your crush on Kosuke?" Tenkou asked slyly, hoping to cheer her up.

"My crush on Kosuke? Why would I have a crush on that green haired doofus?" she said, perhaps too defensively.

"Because while you were eating, I was trying to keep myself entertained. And I just happened to find this while I was looking for something to do," Tenkou said, holding up a rough drawing of Ai and Ueki standing together with attempts at a poem written above it.

"Hey! Give me that," Ai snapped, snatching the paper from Tenkou. "So I like Kosuke, a lot, he came into my life when I was at the lowest point in my life," Ai said. "And he reminds me so much of my mother... I just hope I can help him where I never could help my mom."

"You're a strong girl Ai," Tenkou said. "Probably the strongest person I've met besides Kosuke. To hold everything on your shoulders that you do, and insist on doing so alone, that takes strength even most celestials lack."

"You think?" Ai asked.

"I know, and I think Kosuke would be very lucky to have a girl like you," Tenkou said with a smile.

Ai smiled, Tenkou had been trying to cheer her up, and it worked. "Thanks Tenkou."

"Don't mention it," Tenkou said with a smile. "Oh! Check the PDA, make sure Ueki's talents haven't changed."

Ai pulled the PDA from her bag, which she'd technically stolen Yodogawa, and looked it over. Several new talents had appeared for Kosuke, Rinko and Sano. Kosuke had talents to balance, walk tightrope, perform acrobatics and so on. "This doesn't look good," she muttered.

"I guess that clown really does want them to perform," Tenkou said, looking over Rinko and Sano's talents which were also circus act related.

"We're his audience though right? So if we haven't been told where to go, than they must still be okay."

"You have a point, maybe you should try calling Kosuke, just to be sure."

Ai dialled Ueki's number and waited for him to pick up. "Ai? What is it? I'm kind of busy right now," he said hurriedly, dropping his flirtatious tone.

"Are you still on your date with Gina?" Ai asked.

"Yes, is that all you called for?" Ueki asked.

"Yes, just making sure you're okay."

"Okay, talk to you later baby," he said then hung up.

"Well it sounds like he's still fine," Ai said.

"Well in that case let's try to take our minds off it. We still have most of three weeks to catch the clown, and we'll manage well before that time's up."

"Right. You know Tenkou, Ueki's sister's video game craze is kind of contagious," Ai said, pointing to her own system attached to a TV. She'd originally got it and a couple of games used, figuring it'd give guys something to do if she ever got one over. Since meeting Ueki's sister though, she'd found herself getting steadily addicted to video games.

"Please, I can play circles around Kosuke," Tenkou boasted.

"Oh yeah? Let's see if you can play circles around me," Ai challenged,

"You're on!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ueki groaned as he opened his eyes. His back felt cold, and so did his front for that matter, and he was laying on something hard. Last thing he remembered was falling asleep at home. When he opened his eyes, he was confused to see a brightly coloured ceiling. He rubbed his eyes and realized that it was a ceiling of canvas, like a circus tent. He quickly sat up and looked around, and realized he was lying on top of one of the acrobat platforms. To add to that he looked down and realized the reason he was feeling cold was because he didn't have a shirt on, just a pair of spandex pants. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Ueki? Is that you?" Sano's voice called from the other platform. Ueki looked across the gap to see his friend on the other side.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Ueki asked.

"Ueki! Sano!" a voice called from the ground. The two looked down to see Rinko down below in a fancy outfit. Next to here was, surprisingly, Hanon, who was sitting on a small platform.

"Ah! You all woke up!" a voice cried that Sano recognized. Harlequin appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the air below the trapeze platforms, but well above the ground. "Now it's time for rehearsal! See you're all going to be this circus' new performers, so I need you all to practice, practice, practice! Ueki, Sano, you're performing the flying trapeze, and don't worry Sano, Ueki will catch you and you've both been given talents for it."

"Okay, but what am I?" Rinko called from the ground.

"You're the animal tamer! And Hanon there's the animal. He's an infernal of the Guardians, so he can open his mouth really wide."

"Whatever you say, sir," Hanon said politely and kindly, a stark contrast to his personality when Ueki had first met him.

"Now you need to practice! I'll be watching to make sure you do a good job, but I need to gather up the audience, so be good. And no trying to runny run off, because this big top has a top! A couple actually."

"What does that mean?" Ueki asked.

"No idea. Anyways, get to work!" Harlequin said and vanished.

((()))

"A little practice with Ueki's sister pays off," Ai said, stretching as she got up. She'd spent the night before playing video games with Tenkou, and they made the bet that whoever lost owed the other a curry.

"That bet wasn't fair, the only person I can play video games with is Kosuke. Besides, how am I supposed to pay?" Tenkou asked, closing his eyes while Ai got changed.

"Simple, Ueki can pay for it for you," Ai said once she finished.

"Oh, so you were just trying to get a date out of him," Tenkou teased.

"What? No, but who else can pay for you? You share a house, so you can share debts." Ai's father had already gone to work and so she had to make breakfast herself, which she shared with Tenkou. She was cleaning up and getting ready to leave when the phone rang. "Hello?" Ai said after picking up the phone.

"Ai? It's Shoko Ueki. Have you seen Kosuke today?" Shoko asked.

"No, I only just got up. Why?"

"Oh dear," Shoko muttered worriedly "Well he wasn't in his bed this morning, but his shoes and clothes are still here. Something must've happened to him."

"Probably a red and black something," Ai said to Tenkou, who was listening as well. "Don't worry Shoko, I think I know where he is."

"You do? Tell me where?" Shoko asked.

"Just trust me, I'll have him home by tonight."

"Okay Ai, I'm counting on you," Shoko said, then hung up.

"You don't really know where he is do you?" Tenkou asked.

"Not exactly, but probably with that clown."

"And where do we find the clown?" Tenkou asked.

"Well... I guess we wait for him to invite us to his show."

Tenkou sighed as they left Ai's and made their way to the ground floor. "Never thought I'd meet a Greykin. I wonder if they're all this crazy," Tenkou said, fluttering into Ai's bag.

"You shouldn't judge people before you meet them," Ai lectured.

"Aren't you the one who kept thinking every power user was bad?" Tenkou asked.

"Oh yeah," Ai replied sheepishly.

"Plus, I'm not sure if he'd count against Ueki's talents if attacked," Tenkou said.

"Well the clown controls Ueki's talents, so maybe it wouldn't. Besides, all we need to do to beat him is grab him."

"First we need to find him," Tenkou pointed out. "And to do that our best bet is to see if he'll invite us to his 'show'."

"But what do we do until then?" Ai mused. "Oh I know! There's this old circus near the edge of town, maybe that place has some connection to this clown kid."

"Why would a mortal circus have a connection to a greykin?" Tenkou asked.

"Ueki's a celestial sent down to Earth, so was Robert, it's possible that's where the clown lived," Ai explained, getting on the bus. Tenkou waited for her to sit down and put her bag on her lap before speaking, talking as quietly as possible.

"I assume when you say it's old you mean it's abandoned. Are you sure that's safe?"

"Probably safer than hanging out with Ueki and the others, now shush, I don't want people to see me talking to my bag." The ride was relatively uneventful and Ai spent her time thinking more about what the next round of the competition would be, while Tenkou was scratching his brain for a way that Ueki could defeat Hanon.

The bus didn't actually stop anywhere near the circus, but it stopped a couple blocks away near an arcade. It was there that Ai got off and began walking towards the circus. It was a slightly less urbanized section of town, closer to the outskirts than Ai usually went. The circus owned a large lot, though the shows used to only run in the summer. After thirty minutes walking, and texting a bit in Ai's case, they came to the circus grounds.

Here the ground was overgrown with grass and the tents and booths were in disrepair. Ai walked in through a front gate with a sign hanging off, squeaking on its bolts. The colours of the tents were faded and the words on the signs were wearing away. "Welcome to the Tachimi Circus," Ai read off. "Home of the Amazing..." she trailed off, seeing the rest of the sign had worn away.

"The Amazing who I wonder," Tenkou mused.

"I dunno, I never really paid much attention to the circus' acts, just what happened to it."

"What _did_ happen to it?" Tenkou asked as Ai began walking into the derelict circus.

"Well apparently Mr. Tachimi had been bullied by a branch of the Yakuza into giving them a large portion of his profit in exchange for help in protection and advertisement. Eventually Mr. Tachimi had enough and told the Yakuza off," Ai said, thinking back to the newspaper article. "That was a year or two ago. Then, a couple months ago, about the same time my mother died, the Yakuza attacked the circus in the middle of night. Tore it down, killed its residents, and the next day the site was discovered and heavily investigated." Ai paused to duck into the bigtop. "The investigation concluded the Yakuza were involved, but there was one mystery about the case that was never solved."

"What's that?" Tenkou asked.

"Some of the Yakuza men were injured and lying under stands, or constricted in rings, like the objects had attacked them," Ai answered, looking around the dark, damp tent. Everything was rotting, probably from the excess amount of rain earlier in the year. The bleachers were gone, and where they stood, something caught Ai's eye. She rushed over and picked it up, only to see it was an advertisement poster.

"Come to the Tachimi Circus, home of Rinka the Animal Tamer, Ippei and Daisuke the acrobats, the Fabulous Freak Show, and our starring act, the Amazing Harlequin," Tenkou read off. "Hey wait, look at the picture!" Tenkou cried, pointing to a faded picture of a clown in a red and black outfit.

"Is that the clown kid?" Ai asked with surprise. It was a drawing, but the outfit was unmistakably the same as the clown kid who'd been tormenting her and her friends the day before. "He's the only one that would match the name 'Harlequin'."

"What's a 'harlequin'?" Tenkou asked.

"A Harlequin is a fictional clown originally from Renaissance Italy who was used as a stock character in comedy plays," Ai explained, sounding like she had a class in front of her and a chalkboard behind her. "In fact our clown kid friend's outfit is quite similar to one of the outfits attributed to the original Harlequin character, though that character also wore a mask."

"So we at least have his name: Harlequin," Tenkou said. "He was their best act too, probably because of his Greykin powers."

"Then... if he's really a Greykin like you say, then one of his parents is a celestial and the other's an infernal," Ai muttered to Tenkou. "Would either the Celestial World or the Underworld accept a kid like that?"

"I spent most of my life in a prison, but it doesn't sound like something that would be accepted."

"Then maybe he was sent down to Earth, specifically this circus. That would've left him homeless after this place was attacked."

"Yeah, it did," came the voice of Harlequin, though much more subdued than normal. Ai looked up to the bleachers to see the clown kid sitting there, gazing around the big top pensively. "You got most of it right. My mom's an infernal and my dad's a celestial, but they couldn't decide what to do with me so they left me on Earth. They left me here at this circus." Harlequin hopped down from the bleachers and strolled around the dark and dank tent.

"So you spent your whole life here," Ai said.

"Yep, all eleven years, eleventh year being the last. These people were my family, Mr. Tachimi, Rinka, she was pretty, Ippei and Daisuke, and of course Matsuo, my mentor. He was the clown before me, I was barely six when he died, but he was like a father to me. My first performances were with him. Being a clown is about making people laugh, and that first performance me and Matsuo stirred up such a riot that we got a double encore. Matsuo said he was very proud of me, in fact it's the last thing he said to me before he died."

"How'd he die?" Ai asked softly.

"I... don't know a disease of some kind I think. I'm a clown, not a doctor. And of course he knew about my powers, as did I. I got my kurogane when I was five." A red, white and black cannon appeared on his arm as he said this, much to Tenkou's surprise as none of his eyes were lit up. "Don't look so surprised, I _am _half-celestial."

"Yeah, but I should've sensed it."

"I'm half-infernal too, that probably clouded your senses. Greykin are rare, I'm the first of my kind in several hundred years. And I'd be a freak if I were elsewhere, but not the circus. The circus accepts anybody. Nobody judges you based on your look or your skills, they judge you by how to treat everyone else. That's what Mr. Tachimi said, and Matsuo always told me that too. After his death I used to hang around the Freak Show members a lot more. Wolf Man, Bearded Lady, we had the whole works.

"Of course my powers were always worked into my act. I was made head clown after Matsuo died, and my powers made our act look so much more authentic. It makes things a lot easier when you can fake injuries without props. As you can see I became the most popular act and the star of this place." Harlequin sighed and looked around the tent again, remembering the days when it was full of life and happiness. "And then, the incident happened. Those gangsters attacked us in the middle of the night, burned the big top, killed Mr. Tachimi; murdered my family. So to fight back I brought the circus itself to life, but not to kill. I can never kill, not even the midst of sorrow and rage I couldn't bring myself to do what those evil men did.

"But now I can bring them back! With the PDA the circus has been reborn, and they'll be my new family," Harlequin said, his voice regaining some of its usual energy. "Here, take this invitation and come back at six, you'll be able to see the show then." A small credit card-like object appeared in Ai's hands, and like everything of Harlequin's it was red, black and white, though largely the former two colours.

"But you-" Ai started to say.

"See you then!" Harlequin cried gleefully, back to normal, and then vanishing.

"Poor kid," Ai muttered "He's still annoying though."

"I wonder who he meant by 'they'll be my new family'. Do you think maybe he meant Ueki and the others?" Tenkou said.

"Probably, but we can't do anything until tonight," Ai pointed out with frustration.

"I say we do lunch," Tenkou said brightly.

"So soon?"

"By the time we find a place it'll be lunchtime."

"Shouldn't we be searching for a way to get Ueki and the others out?" Ai asked.

"You heard it from the clown's mouth; he doesn't kill, so they should be fine for now. Now come on, I'm hungry." Ai rolled her eyes and walked back towards the bus stop.

"I'll meet the girls after lunch, I can try and talk to Gina about her date," Ai said as they got off the bus and headed towards a restaurant. As Ai had come to expect, Tenkou wolfed down several helpings of whatever Ai could afford about twenty of.

"That's better," Tenkou said after Ai paid and they left. "What were you saying before about grill dates?"

"You weren't paying any attention were you?"

"I can't think when I'm hungry."

"You know you're going to have to be quiet all afternoon right?"

"I was quiet for weeks at a time during my imprisonment, a couple hours is nothing."

"If you say so Tenkou."

Tenkou actually ended up dozing off, and when he woke up he was lying on Ai's bed. She was on her computer playing some game. Tenkou yawned and stretched, loving the softness of beds over the cold stone of prison. It was something he was still enjoying. "I'm awake Ai."

"Good morning sleepyhead," Ai said as Tenkou fluttered over to her. "It's not time yet. What are we going to do though?"

"Maybe if we just enjoy his show he'll decide to release them," Tenkou suggested. "What're you gonna tell your dad?"

"I... don't know. We won't be gone that long though."

"What have you been telling your dad this whole time anyways?"

"Well usually I'm not gone far for long. I told him I was going to visit Ueki at camp before. He bought it."

"Fair enough I guess," Tenkou said and looked at the clock on Ai's computer. "Um Ai, it's almost five-thirty, I think we should get going."

"Way ahead of you Tenkou," Ai said, getting up and grabbing her bag. "I already wrote a note for my dad too." She stuffed Tenkou in the bag, ignoring his annoyed 'hey' and dashed out the door, dropping the note on the kitchen counter. She'd gotten used to running with Ueki getting into trouble all the time, and here he was in trouble again.

By the time they arrived at the old circus it was about six o'clock on the dot. As she approached it though it didn't seem like anything had changed. She pulled out the strange invitation and continued to walk towards the gate into the circus area. Suddenly the card started glowing and got brighter the close she came. A grey mist appeared around her and she looked around wildly in fear. "What's going on Tenkou?" she cried.

"I have no idea, I don't know anything about Greykin."

The fog began to clear as the card's glow began to fade. The sight that came into view was the complete opposite of the derelict, dank circus. She was instead standing at the front of the grounds to a bright, cheerful and lively circus with clowns wandering around and many visitors of varying ages. The clowns all seemed to be her age though, in fact most of the staff seemed to be around her age or older, but junior high school age nonetheless.

"Welcome to my circus you two," Harlequin said cheerfully, appearing in front of them. "Welcome to the Harlequin Circus! Playing for eternity here in the Grey Zone."

"The Grey Zone? The Gray Zone's a circus?" Ai asked.

"Not exactly," Harlequin said with his usual cheer. "The Grey Zone is my home. There used to be many more Greykin you know. One of the ancient Celestial Kings took pity on us for not having a home, so he created a little dimension all of its own just for us. The Grey Zone can take the appearance and terrain of whatever the Grey King wants."

"So because you're the only Greykin, you're the Grey King?" Tenkou asked.

"The teddy bear got it right!" Harlequin cried gleefully. "Wander around and have fun! It's a circus after all. The show doesn't start for half an hour."

"Can we meet the performers?" Ai asked. Harlequin folded his arms in thought then shrugged.

"Sure, but only for a couple minutes. They need their rest before the show! You can find their trailers behind the tent. See you soon!" Harlequin vanished with a giggle leaving Ai to meander her way through the circus to get to the area behind the big top.

"Hey Ai look! Isn't that Kobayashi?" Tenkou asked, pointing into the crowd. Ai followed his paw and saw a man with a maroon shirt, platinum hair and glasses. It was definitely Mr. K, her and Ueki's former homeroom teacher and former Celestial King candidate.

"Mr. K!" she called, running up to him.

"Ai! What're you doing here?" he asked instantly.

"I was gonna ask the same thing! I thought you were locked in the Underworld."

"I was, and still am. Then that clown kid showed up in the middle of the prison and said all Celestials and Infernals got free invitations to the Harlequin Circus. Even the Celestial and Infernal Kings were invited."

"Harlequin can cross dimensions?" Tenkou asked with surprise. "I guess I should've expected it."

"He had to come in the middle of the night too," Mr. K added grumpily "I was having a great dream about being in a real bed. Something about that kid gives me a weird vibe, but I don't know what it is."

"He's a Greykin," Tenkou said simply.

"A what? You're kidding right? That's just a fairytale, everyone knows that."

"It's true Mr. K! We heard it right from his mouth. We're in the world of the Greykin right now!" Ai added.

"He's half-celestial and half-infernal," Mr. K mused. "He could be dangerous. Those sorts of beings aren't supposed to exist."

"Why not?" Ai asked, somewhat indignantly. She wasn't sure why, it just seemed rude to say something like that concerning someone's heritage, especially for the ever kindly Mr. K. Besides, Ueki often seemed to stop opponents by being nice to them; hopefully that tactic could work here.

"It's just... weird I guess. We've only been at peace with the Underworld for about twenty-five years, and some of us still have some... sore spots," Mr. K explained, sounding more sombre than Ai had ever heard him.

"You know better than to be like that Kobayashi," Tenkou said. "It's our actions and morals that make us who we are, not our race."

After a silence Mr. K smiled. "You're right Tenkou, and I should've remembered that. Although so far I'm not sure what to think."

"We're going to visit the performers, wanna come with?" Ai asked.

"Sure, why not. I'm curious to meet performers an eleven year old was able to find. I wonder who they could be."


End file.
